Thursday, 24 March 2011

I love hand embroidery, but find I don't much have the time for it. I started a huge old treasure map for the ginger one's 4th birthday.....

He will be 8 in a couple of weeks time.

One day.

But I really love machine embroidery.

I'm not sure how technically great I am being almost completely self taught, but I do love it.

I say almost completely because my very good friend Miss Moonie Moon is ever so ever so good at it, and I spent a few weeks sharing a table with her when we were working on "Gladiator" ( Yes that Gladiator) many moons ago,

I was zooming away making vaguely roman garments

and she was doing a wonderful job embellishing them all with gold thread.

So I kept my eyes open and asked the odd question, there really is a lot you can absorb through osmosis, let me tell you.

Though I never could manage to machine my beads on like she does.

Any way the love of machine embroidery was born.

What I really love is the fact that when I'm doing it I have to really concentrate, so all the other stuff goes away.

I'm not thinking about the constant deadlines I work to, I'm not thinking about the effect an insomniac child is having on us all, I'm not thinking about the state of the house, or our finances, or friends, or family, or the shopping, or the boring politics at the college.

I'm just thinking about the thread and where it will be going next.

Afterwards I always feel quite calm and fresh headed.

Guess maybe its my form of meditation.

Wish I could do more of it.

All the tutors past and present have been asked to submit a piece of their work for a book celebrating the foundation course at Wimbledon College of Art.

This is because it is closing, the site being sold for development, and the ragged remnants of what was once the best foundation course in the country merged with the ragged remains of other courses and about 700 students(!) shoved in to what I have no doubt will be a woefully inadequate and understaffed new site.

But Hey lets not get me started on this subject as I may be here until the middle of next week ranting on without drawing breath.

Any way back to the point, the book, I decided to submit a piece of embroidery I did a while ago to advertise a sewing machine workshop I was running.

The remit was that it should be a drawing, and I thought drawing with thread was about the best I could manage!

To continue with this embroidered theme I made this for a friend who recently did me a huge favour.

She sadly lost her mother last year, and in the process of clearing out her house saved all the old cotton reels for yours truly.

I used one of the afore said wooden reels to make this, I used up lots of bits of the thread she had given me to do the embroidery.

The fact that it was near to pancake day when I made it and used the "lemon" cotton reel appealed to my sense of humour.

Making a special memento for some one out of junk that once belonged to someone they loved was a really great feeling.

Tuesday, 15 March 2011

"BUT WHEN IT GETS SUNNY THEY WILL GET

ALL SWEATY INNIT?"

Someone was walking to the station the other morning and found a group of teenage girls clustered round the Ninja Knitting at the entrance to the tunnels of death, aka stab alley, stroking the wooly cozys and saying the above.

Ever since the Ninja Knitters were abroad a couple of weeks ago

we have had a slightly weird time.

There has been so much interest, with on line articles in a couple of local blogs,

people stopping us in the street asking about it,

loads of people want to become Ninjas and

every one really wants to know what we will be up to next.

But that my friends is not just TOP SECRET information.

It is ULTRA TOP SECRET INFORMATION.

Given out only to those who have been initiated in to the ranks of Ninja, with instruction to memorise the information, then burn the evidence and scatter the ashes to the four winds.

Any one who blabs in is deep do do.

They will have their tongues cut out and be fed the liquidized remains.

Very serious stuff this Ninja knitting!

At this point I must pause in my waffle to say that the Ninja knitters fame is spreading, not only because we did something funny, interesting and colourful at the very dreary part of the year, but because one of the Ninja's made the

Ninja Cristina is a clever girl and has made quite a few local films, though probably none as funny as this one. Or as well viewed so far the film has had over 700 views on You Tube.

All this activity does seem to have sparked a knitted graffiti turf war,

which is rather exciting.

The serendipitous stitchers have taken over the other side of the tracks and decorated it with their own style of wooly embellishment.

And from the sheer volume of finger knitting used I think it is safe to say at least one of them has a little girl or two hidden away at home!

I am secretly rather excited about two things, first that I think we have managed to convert one of the serendipitous stitchers over to the true path and secondly at the idea of some kind of knitted tag war starting up.

And still the story doesn't end, we all woke up yesterday to find we had been "chalked".

All around our area a group known as Chalkers had been at work under cover of darkness chalking the outlines of shadows cast by the street lights.

I have a feeling I know who they are as I had a special message round my chalked car.

In fact at the risk of sounding boring, I think one of them has been recruited to be a Ninja!

I am feeling if any one out there wants to join in the Ninja knit in let me know and induction in to the ranks of Ninjadom can begin.

One million books to be given away from Saturday onwards all over the country.

48 copies of Alan Bennett's "A life like other peoples" later

and I am still reeling from the whole thing.

This Friday was a rather special night for a few of us South London girls.

Bizarrely there were 3 of us Mums from our school who were all picked.

We picked up our wrist bands at the allotted time,

put on our warm coats and boots and

headed off for an extra special night out.

The world book night launch in Trafalgar Square.

Every minute of the two and a half freezing hours spent there was fantastic.

My highlight was Alan Bennett reading a very moving piece about his Mother's last days, and then going on to have a good old rant about library closures.

But David Nichols reading from "One Day" and Sarah Walters reading from "The Fingersmith" were equally memorable.

Seeing Margaret Atwood almost made me forgive her for the truly terrible

" Year of the flood" that I had to read recently, almost, but not quite!

Then the giving began.

My friend and glamourous assistant in the sewing class department, Kirsty and I had both elected to give away our books at school.

Me because I thought it would be interesting to give away a book so quintessentially English, with such a wry English sense of self depreciating humour in such a multi cultural school (there are over 60 languages spoken in our playground!)

Kirsty because she thought "One Day" by David Nichols would appeal to Dads, and they would in turn make good role models for their sons and

encourage them to read more.

Any way what ever the reasons a free book is a free book and they all went with in 15 miniutes. It was great walking through the playground afterwards seeing so many people clutching their books and imagining the hours of pleasure they have ahead.

I saved a few and gave them away at the college I teach at this lunch time, but

we could have given away twice as many, still there is always next year.

About Me

Nora has red hair and a big bum. She likes G&T, chocolate, cakes, clutter, aprons, Nana's, dancing badly and clapping out of time. Nora doesn't like sticky messes, and not being able to sing. She also regrets not being 6 foot tall or being able to do a piercing whistle. However Nora wants an end to poverty, hunger and suffering in the world brought about by the medium of sewing.